Facilities operations and engineering professionals focus on the future of the profession.

Las Vegas has always been a city for dreamers. Why else would someone start a hotel and casino at the north end of a parched desert town and expect that, somehow, millions of people a year would journey there from Los Angeles, New York, London and other cities around the world. The optimism of those early Las Vegas developers may be equated with the optimism of Ray Kinsella, the wide-eyed Field of Dreams character, who dreamed that one day thousands of cheering baseball fans would flock to his baseball stadium in an Iowa corn field.

“Build it and they will come” was the motto Kinsella lived by — and it might easily been the motto of pioneer Vegas hotel owners as well.

Only the Las Vegas dream was real — not a film — and when they built the hotels and casinos, they did come: dreamers lured by the potential for huge winnings at the gaming tables and slots, and later by the excitement of entertainers such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., and other high profile performers whose sometimes-flagging careers took on a rebirth of energy at The Sands, Flamingo and other hotels and casinos along the by now world-famous (or infamous) Las Vegas strip.

By the late 1980s, Las Vegas had lost some of its luster. City leaders knew that they had to reinvent “Sin City” if they were to compete with other gaming locations, like Atlantic City. Their answer: transform the city into a business mecca, where business people could enjoy conferences and conventions during the day and the excitement of Las Vegas nightlife in the evening.

In 2010, the Association for Facilities Engineering also needed a shot of energy — and Las Vegas seemed like the perfect place to map out plans for even greater growth and impact on the profession. AFE leadership felt certain that the draw of Las Vegas would bring members from across the country and the world. By co-locating with a larger, more established Las Vegas trade show (Facility Decisions), and with a lot of hard work from AFE volunteers and staff , success was assured.

And it was a success. The Facilities America conference, combined with Facility Decisions, attracted thousands of participants. More importantly it seemed to herald a new charge of excitement to the organization, as members from across the country and around the world met each other for the first time.

The 2010 edition of Facilities America was so successful that the organization decided to return to Las Vegas in 2011. This was to the delight of the thousands of earlier participants, as well as those who had missed the conference the year before and wanted to find out what all of the 'buzz' was about.

For the facilities engineering and operations professionals who had participated in education sessions, and an Expo with hundreds of vendors displaying the latest facilities operations and maintenance technology, Facilities America was indeed a “sure bet” on their career success.

In 2011, the event gave an even greater number of attendees the opportunity to share notes, experiences and lessons learned from colleagues, educators, subject experts, exhibitors and government representatives.

“The decision to return to Las Vegas turned out to be an excellent one,” said Roy Nation, manager of Pre-Construction Services at J. F. Ahern Co., and chair of the Facilities America Committee. “Attendees of Facilities America 2011 were able to choose from sessions on a wide range of topics and learning levels. They had a chance to spend time on the Expo floor talking to vendors, and attending networking events like facilities tours and the AFE Awards Ceremony.” He continued: “The knowledge they gained from these formal education sessions, vendor demonstrations, and networking events helped ensure that they were able to gain or reinforce the skills and knowledge you need to operate today’s green and energy efficient building systems.”

What was most important, Nation noted, was that “at Facilities America, AFE members have told me that they consider AFE part of their extended family." Dr. Wayne Carley, executive director of AFE, noted that the education component was what attracted the most participants. “Each year,” he said, “the education sessions and Expo address challenges and strategies that are of value to facilities professionals who operate buildings of every type, shape and size.”

Leadership Meetings

AFE also hosted a large number of executive meetings, including the AFE board meeting, at Facilities America. “These attracted a large number of members, and helped AFE to formulate planning and strategy, and provide leadership training that will benefit the organization for years to come,” said Carley.

Stephen Nicholas, president of Air Industries and an AFE board member, took part in an executive meeting at Facilities America. “People are attracted to a winner,” he said. “They want to be associated with a good organization that sets standards of efficiency and effectiveness for volunteer participation.”

Meetings were also held to discuss professional development, marketing and sponsorship, and membership development. A leadership development seminar was led by Talisa Thomas- Hall, AFE senior director of operations and membership.

Certification Review

For those who have considered becoming AFE Certified as a way to enhance their career, AFE offered a CPMM Review Course and test in conjunction with Facilities America. Larry Ross, senior director of engineering at Erickson Living and the chair of AFE Professional Development, said AFE Certification is becoming essential, especially as workers search for ways to demonstrate their skills and knowledge, and employers look for ways to identify candidates which possess those important skills.

“With new, more energy efficient and sustainable buildings systems and techniques available every day,” he said, “it is increasingly important for facilities engineers, operations and maintenance professional to demonstrate they have the skills, education and training necessary to successfully operate or manage today’s high tech facilities.”

DC in 2012

Although the past two year’s conferences in Las Vegas have been, in Carley’s words, “extremely successful,” AFE leadership has decided to hold Facilities America 2012 in the Washington, DC area. “One of the most important roles of AFE is in helping to promote legislation that will benefit the facilities engineering and operations professionals,” said Carley. “As a result, we thought it was important to hold this year’s Facilities America in the DC area.”

While the format of the conference in DC will be much the same as the conferences in Las Vegas — with dozens of educational sessions, a Chapter Awards Ceremony, and a behind-the-scenes tour of a world famous facility — hosting the conference in DC will allow AFE to sponsor “Hill visits” to members’ legislators in the nation’s Capitol. “Our members are the best advocates for legislation that affects them,” Carley noted, “because their legislators know that they vote.”

FACILITIES AMERICA RECAP: Behind the Scenes at the Bellagio

AFE Members Enjoy Exclusive Tour of World-Famous Fountains of Bellagio and Central Plant during Facilities America 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Most of the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the world-famous Fountains of Bellagio are more interested in the show of water, music and light — backdropped against the brilliant Las Vegas sky. But most of them are not facilities operations and engineering professionals — the type of folks who want to learn how the water and light magically perform to the music.

For AFE members — who are facilities professionals who likes to get “behind the scenes” to see the nuts and bolts of how things work — the facility tour of the Bellagio hotel was the most exciting and impressive part of their visit to Las Vegas for Facilities America last October.

One AFE member described it as “by far the best facilities tour I have ever been on — and I have been on many good ones.” Photos of the tour, including a rare daytime display of the world-famous Fountains of Bellagio, have been posted on the Facebook site of the Association for Facilities Engineering.

The tour, provided exclusively to AFE members, was held in conjunction with Facilities America. It included a one hour tour of the world-famous Fountains of Bellagio, a one hour tour of the facilities central plant, and a one-half hour question and answer period.

“The tour was great, those that didn't take the time to go on this tour really missed a big one,” said Dave Turany, a longtime active member of AFE. “Our tour guides were fantastic. There wasn't a question that we threw at them that they didn't answer. We were all amazed at the back-up equipment that they had; i.e. seven generators and other equipment most can only dream about. We learned about the capacity of the hotel and casino, along with the capabilities of the whole ventilation, heating, and lighting systems.”

Larry McCarty, whose interview is featured in this edition, said that he and the three Methodist Hospital operations managers who joined him “thought it was a great tour. The presenters were very candid and knowledgeable.”

Turany added that the dancing waters display was particularly exciting. “Seeing the equipment and operations behind the scenes was extremely impressive," he said. "I never imagined the pool was that large (many acres) or that deep, 18' - 20'. It takes a lot of equipment and programming to manage this water show. The numbers of pumps and capacities to produce the water heights and volumes of water pushed from these units, amazing.”

For those who like numbers, here are some that should impress even the facilities engineer who “has seen it all”:

The Fountain Show at Lago Bellagio

On a lake of more than 8.5 acres of water

22.5 million gallons of water in the lake

There are 1,214 Water Emitting Devices in the lake

Water’s highest point reaches 460 feet

208 Oarsmen spray water up to a max height of 70 feet, at 140 gallons per minute

798 Mini Shooters dispense water up to a max height of 120 feet and dispenses water at various pressures

192 Super Shooters spray water up to a max height of 244 feet and can dispense water at varying pressures

It takes 40 hours of programming for every 1 minute of showtime

The Central Plant at Bellagio

9 Caterpillar Generators at 1750 KW each = 15.75 MW total standby power

10 York Chillers 1325 tons each = 13,250 tons of air conditioning (All areas but SpaTower)

9 cooling towers (Main Plant)

Acid feed water treatment program

4 Unilux Boilers at 500Hp each

3 Bryan Boilers at 375Hp each

The AFE Foundation: Committed to the Future

He AFE Foundation is committed to the future of facilities engineering. Some examples of our commitment are awarding scholarships for AFE certification programs and to attend our annual conference, Facilities America. In the current economy, it is not just the young that have to determine their career path. Each of us, every day, has to determine what path we are on and find ways to add value and take pride in our work—and the AFE Foundation is committed to helping you and other thousands of other facilities professionals do just that.

Today, the composition of the AFE Foundation board represents a broad range of professional expertise and knowledge from within our organization and beyond, providing wide ranging insight. This insight allows us to leverage best-of-breed solutions practiced by other foundations and apply them to new projects, and to create a strong position for future opportunities.

The scholarships awarded by the AFE Foundation allow more individuals to gain the skills necessary to help them operate and maintain facilities in a more efficient and environmentally friendly manner, adding value for both their employers and the overall economy. For those of us who are lucky enough to contribute to these scholarships there is a sense of pride in knowing that we are making a difference in our profession and the careers of our fellow facilities professionals.

While we are still relatively new to granting scholarships, we are indeed making a difference. For every scholarship granted, as many as 10 times that many lives may be touched. Certification is not about a piece of paper, but the study and application of the principles involved.

Facilities America is not about one individual learning, it is about all of us sharing and networking with each other. No facility engineer stands alone. We all must be able to lean on each other both for knowledge sharing and for advice and support. These principles and connections are especially important when inevitable frustrations occur while operating and maintaining a facility, due to inclement weather, equipment failure, or other unforeseen events.

Over the coming 10 years, the AFE Foundation is committed to expanding its role in promoting education and training for underrepresented groups in the facilities engineering profession. We are also determined to grow our volunteer programs that help to serve the needs of the larger community

Please join me in the commitment of the AFE Foundation to the future. Learn more about our mission and support us in any way you can. Contribute to the future either through participating in our volunteer programs or with a donation. Encourage and promote the applications of future scholarship participants in your chapter meetings.

Thank you for your help in the past, and for working with us to build our future. Together we will make a difference in how the facility engineering profession adds value to the lives of people throughout the world.